Poultry News

Tyson Cuts Poultry Processing Capacity at Two Georgia Plants

07 April 2015

US - Tyson Foods, Inc. is to discontinue operations at one plant in Georgia at the end of May and another is scheduled to end a third shift this week.

As part of ongoing efforts to increase efficiencies of its poultry business in Georgia, Tyson Foods, Inc. plans to discontinue operations at its poultry plant in Buena Vista, Georgia, at the end of May. In addition, the company will no longer run a third shift at its location in Dawson, Georgia, from 10 April.

These decisions will affect approximately 190 people who work at the Buena Vista location and about 70 people at the Dawson location. The planned Buena Vista closure is due to a combination of factors including changing product needs, the age of the facility and the prohibitive cost of its renovation.

Noel White, president of Poultry for Tyson Foods, said: “Because these changes affect our team members and their families, it was a very tough decision. Our business needs have changed in southern Georgia, so after a great deal of consideration, we've decided to take these steps in order to best serve our customers.”

In January, the company announced that it is making a significant investment in its Vienna, Georgia, location and changing the focus of its production. The expansion project in Vienna will add more than 700 jobs when it is completed in the middle of this year.

Tyson Foods intends to work with state officials to ensure affected employees are informed about unemployment benefits and any potential re-training opportunities.